Day: July 18, 2011

There is a new kid in town–Cafe Rio, that opened recently on July 13 on Sudley Road in what is known as the K-Mart Shopping Center. Cafe Rio is in the old Hollywood video building, near BB&T Bank.

Cafe Rio is part of a high end chain that originated in St. George, Utah in 1997. This restaurant does not have freezers or microwaves so all food must be brought in fresh daily. The lines stretched around the building last weekend, even at 7:30. People are eager to try the new cuisine. For those who don’t have time to dine out, carry out is easy. Call the store and pick up your meal in 15 minutes. The store has 2 dedicated employees to provide excellent service for curbside.

What I found interesting is reading the Northern Virginia blogs. I read all sorts of sneering and jeering about ‘another Mexican restaurant’ opening up in KMart Shopping Center. The tone was not one of anticipating a new high end restaurant. In fact, what I was reading sounded like bloggers were anticipating a dirty spoon type of establishment. The joke is on them. I saw the lines while I battled my enemy–the BB&T ancient ATM. They were long. The line I saw reached around to the back of the building and included a diverse population. However, if pressed, I would have to say the majority of those waiting in line were Anglo. So the joke is on the nay-sayers.

It’s going to be a scorcher this week, if the weatherman is to be believed. The end of the week is going to usher in 100 degree weather. Out of town visitors and Civil War participants need to use extreme caution outside. Hydration is critical!

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been a bit of a pain in the arse lately. He has acted as one of the chief spokemen for the GOP in the debt ceiling talks and rumor has it that Rep. Bonher is less than happy with him. Cantor’s main problem seems to be combating that old problem of just looking mean. According to the Daily Beast:

As Monday’s White House budget talks got down to the nitty-gritty, Eric Cantor proposed a series of spending cuts, one of them aimed squarely at college students.

The House majority leader, who did most of the talking for the Republican side, said those taking out student loans should start paying interest right away, rather than being able to defer payments until after graduation. It is a big-ticket item that would save $40 billion over 10 years.

President Obama responded:

“I’m not going to do that,” Obama said. “I’m not going to take money from old people and screw students,” not without some compromise on the tax-increase side.

And screwing students is exactly what that move would be. How can a student pay interest when he or she is still in school and in all probability does not have a job? Where is the common sense here? Does Cantor just speak to hear himself talk? There are some very realistic cuts that can be made in the economy. Student loans aren’t the place to start curbing the deficit. Do these people really believe half that comes out of their mouth?